How to Strip and Reseal a Limestone Floor

Lead Image for How to Strip and Reseal a Limestone Floor
  • 6-10 hours
  • Beginner
  • 30-50
What You'll Need
Bucket
Water
Putty knife
Plastic gloves
Vacuum cleaner
Acidic natural stone stripper
Paintbrush
Impregnating sealer compound
Plastic bowl
Lint-free cloth
What You'll Need
Bucket
Water
Putty knife
Plastic gloves
Vacuum cleaner
Acidic natural stone stripper
Paintbrush
Impregnating sealer compound
Plastic bowl
Lint-free cloth

A limestone floor needs to be occasionally stripped and sealed to ensure that its surface is protected against permanent staining and scratching. This is done by removing the old/damaged sealer and re-stripping and resealing the limestone floor.

Step 1—Getting Started: Clearing Limestone Floor

Start by removing every movable object off of the limestone floor. If there are carpets, roll them and move them to the sides. If there are furniture pieces, shift them to nearby rooms. Objects that cannot be moved should be covered with a plastic sheet. Examine the surfaces in direct contact with the floor. Protect such surfaces with a painters tape.

Step 2—Cleaning Off Old Sealer

Use a mop to clean up the dry dust and debris from off of the floor. Ensure that you pay special attention to cleaning along the edges of the walls and the entrances to the room. However, cleaning with soap is not needed since the chemical stripping is very potent. Use a putty knife to edge out the loose and damaged sealing lines. Clean the debris with a vacuum cleaner.

Step 3—Stripping Limestone Floor

You need an acid-based cleaner solution that can clean the deep-seated grime impacted within the limestone floor. Open the packaged stripping solution and pour a few drops upon the limestone floor. Using a paintbrush, scrub the tiles. Ensure that you spread the acidic stripper across the room and use it in a minimal way. You don’t need to coat the surface with the solution.

You should have just about enough of chemical stripper to work with when you are brushing the floor. Some cleaners have a soap-like foaming tendency. This makes it easier to approximate the amount of stripper solution needed. The foaming should be minimal without clouding the floor.

Step 4—Cleaning Chemically-Stripped Limestone Floor

Start cleaning the chemically-stripped floor as soon as you have stripped about half of the room. Though the floor can be rinsed a few minutes after completing the stripping, it is better to wash-off the floor halfway through the project. This is because the acidic stripping solution can permanently scar the flooring surface. Once you have stripped about half of the room, stop with the stripping and proceed with comprehensively rinsing the stripped floor. Use a bucket of water to wash off the chemicals. Strip and rinse the other half of the room in a similar manner. Allow the stripped surface to dry before proceeding.

Step 5—Sealing Limestone Floor

Use an impregnating sealer. Prepare the sealing mixture by pouring some of the sealing solutions into a bowl. These chemicals are usually never diluted. Use a paintbrush for spreading sealer across the limestone floor. Use big strokes to cover more surface area per stroke. Stop when it seems that the entire floor is wet with a thin coating of the sealer compound. Allow the floor to dry.

Proceed by wiping the surface with a lint-free cloth. Use the cloth to wipe off any excess sealer compound and buff the limestone floor into a new, shiny surface. Wait for about two hours and apply the second coat of sealing compound in the same manner. Apply the recommended number of coats as directed by the packaged guidelines.

Step 6—Checking Sealed Limestone Floor

Allow the sealed limestone floor to dry for about 24 hours. The resealed floor should seem impervious to water. Pour some water on the sealed limestone floor. Small beads of water should form on the floor.